Washington Post enable amateur authors to publish articles written using AI

By Alimat Aliyeva

The Washington Post may soon begin accepting opinion pieces from non-professional writers using a proprietary artificial intelligence tool known as Ember. This move is reportedly part of a broader initiative — internally named Ripple — aimed at opening the newspaper to third-party content, including articles from independent authors, Substack writers, and amateur columnists, Azernews reports.

Ember, the AI at the core of this project, can automate several tasks traditionally handled by human editors. These include a "story power" tracker to help writers visualize their article’s development, as well as a dynamic sidebar that outlines key elements of the piece, such as the early thesis, supporting moments, and a memorable ending. Writers will also receive support from an AI assistant, which will offer helpful hints, feedback, and "developing questions" to guide the writing process.

Unlike traditional op-eds, submissions through Ripple will appear outside the newspaper’s main opinion section and will be available without a subscription via The Washington Post’s website and app — a strategic choice designed to attract a broader, potentially younger audience. Editors will continue to review submissions before publication to ensure quality and compliance with journalistic standards.

The first partnership agreements are expected to be finalized this summer, while the AI writing coach will be tested in the fall as part of the project’s final phase. Notably, the initiative reflects a shift in how legacy media platforms are embracing generative AI and user-generated content to stay relevant in an increasingly decentralized media landscape.

This comes amid broader transformations at The Washington Post. In recent months, Jeff Bezos, the paper’s owner and Amazon founder, has taken a more active role in its editorial direction. He reportedly intervened to cancel an editorial in support of Kamala Harris, and later emphasized that the paper should avoid publishing content that contradicts principles of free speech and free markets. These decisions have sparked internal debates and may signal a realignment of the newspaper’s ideological tone.

Ultimately, Ripple seems to be a response to the growing popularity of platforms like Substack, Medium, and even Reddit, where readers are hungry for diverse voices and grassroots perspectives. Whether this experiment leads to a renaissance of public discourse or a flood of poorly edited opinion pieces remains to be seen — but it's clear that The Washington Post is betting on AI-assisted democratization of journalism as the future.